Nothing but the Truth
by Violetphantasy
Summary: Winona and Luke have been fierce rivals since their first meeting, but after they accidentally drink a potentially dangerous potion, they are quarantined to a separate dorm where they begin to realize they are not as different as they may seem...
1. Prologue

**Nothing But The Truth**

**By Violetphantasy**

**Summary: Winona and Luke have been fierce rivals from the time they first met, but after they accidentally drink a potentially dangerous potion, they are quarantined to a separate dorm where they realize that they are as different as they seem and that they will need each other to unravel the mystery behind their circumstances.**

**Disclaimer: Hogwarts and the Wizarding World are created by J.K. Rowling. But, the characters are mine. ;D**

* * *

A young girl stood nervously by her parents, looking around uncertainly. She grasped her mother's hand firmly as they approached the train in front of them. Her father gave her a light push, but the girl refused to budge, grabbing onto her mother's dress.

"Now, now. Winona, don't worry." Her father said soothingly, "You'll like it there." Winona said nothing, but she stared ahead at the crowd of kids, pushing and shoving their way onto the train. Nearby, a sign read, "Hogwarts Express."

"Winnie, it'll be fine." Her mother said as they helped her onto the train, "Don't forget to write to us." Soon, the train started to move, and Winona watched through the window until she could no longer see her parents, waving at her from the station. She was still standing near the doorway when a obnoxious voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Are you going to stand there forever?" A brown-haired boy said with a glare, "You're in my way, you know. So, move it." Winona bit her lip as she moved to the side. It was narrow, and even with her almost flat against the wall, there still wasn't enough room for the boy and his suitcase to pass. Rudely, he shoved against her to make way, and without a glance backwards, walked off.

"Are you okay?" Winona heard a voice from behind, and when she turned to look, she saw a few girls, sitting nearby. The one who had spoken looked around her age, with red hair tied back in a ponytail. "That was just mean, pushing you like that. You wanna sit here?" The girl gestured at an empty seat. Gratefully, Winona nodded and sat down without a word. The girl seemed to be staring expectantly at her, but Winona had no clue what to say.

"Thanks." She uttered finally, her head slightly bowed, letting her bangs hide part of her face.

"No problem. You looked a bit lost." The girl said cheerfully, "I'm Leslie. Nice to meetcha. What's your name?"

"Winona..."She said softly, glancing timidly at the girl.

"Hey, that's a pretty name." Leslie said, grinning, "Ain't it, Layna?" She turned to the girl next to her.

"Mhm." The girl replied, her mouth full of sweets. On her lap was a large assortment of candy - more than Winona had ever seen. Her parents would have never let her eat that much. After a while, the girl seemed to notice Winona staring at her hoard. "You want some?" She asked, "I'm Layna, by the way."

Shyly, Winona took one of the chocolate frogs. She'd rarely ever eaten sweets, due to her mother's strict policies. The chocolate tasted delicious, and WInona longed to take another, but decided against it. She didn't want to eat too much of someone else's food.

"So, what house do you want to be in?" Leslie asked, "I want to be in Gryffindor. Practically all my relatives are, though a few are in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I don't know many people from Slytherin, though. I heard Slytherins are just plain mean."

"...I don't know." Winona replied. Her mother had been a Ravenclaw and her father a Gryffindor. They hadn't really cared what house she'd go in, but Winona doubted it would be Gryffindor. On the other hand, she thought Leslie seemed like she'd fit there. She seemed bold, confident, and brave, so unlike Winona.

Leslie shrugged, "We'll find out soon, anyways. I'm so excited! My brother said that Hogwarts is huge. And beautiful, too. Plus, there's Quidditch. I can't wait till I can try out for the team."

"There's a lot of food there, too." Layna added in between bites. Leslie hit her friend lightly on the shoulder.

"Is food all you can think of?" Leslie said in a mock annoying tone.

"Is Quidditch all _you_ can think of?" Layna retorted. Leslie stuck her tongue and Layna rolled her eyes in reply. "You're so immature."

"You seem to know each other well..." Winona remarked quietly.

"Yeah, well, I've known Layna since I was a baby." Leslie told her, "Our parents were friends back when they were in Hogwarts." Winona wondered then if she could be friends with them. They had known each other for so long, and Winona felt like an outsider.

"Unfortunately, I am stuck with this girl for, like, the rest of my life." Layna said, rolling her eyes again. She'd almost finished her entire candy collection and was now sorting out the cards that came with the frogs, mumbling under her breath.

Suddenly, the train lurched to a stop. Leslie looked out the window and pointed excitedly.

"Look, there it is." She was pointed at a castle, looming ahead. It was dark, and to Winona, it seemed almost sinister. She was scared, scared of being away from home for the very first time. For years, her parents had pampered her and sheltered her, and today, Winona was about to take her first step into the "real" world.

* * *

**Author's Note**: **Thank you for reading the prologue of Nothing But The Truth. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to give any suggestions, comments, etc. that you may have. I'd love to hear your opinions! So, please review. :D It makes me very happy to see them. Anyways, I'm a rather slow writer (and a huge procrastinator), so please bear with me. It might take some time between chapters. ;; Oh, and I'm sorry about the length of the prologue and the next few chapters. I know they're rather short. They'll get longer, I promise. **


	2. Back Again

**Nothing But the Truth**

**By Violetphantasy**

* * *

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat yells and the Gryffindor table erupted with cheers. A short, dark-haired girl scuttled towards the table, looking uncertain and timid as she took a seat at the table. Winona couldn't help but to feel sympathy towards the young girl for she reminded her so much of herself exactly four years before. Winona could still remember her initial shock as she wondered whether the Sorting Hat had made a mistake; surely, it was possible since it was forced to sort so many in a day. Winona smiled at the memory, though sometimes she still thought he'd made a mistake. Bold and brave were not words she'd use to describe herself. Ravenclaw seemed a better choice to her, but nevertheless, she was grateful that she was in Gryffindor with Leslie and Layna. She didn't know what she would have done without them.

"We're 5th years now, eh?" Leslie said cheerily as they sat down to eat, "I can't believe we're so old. I'll be toothless soon, I'll bet. Just like my old grandmum." Laughing, she poked her friends in the shoulders. Winona poked her back, though not as hard, and started piling food on her plate.

"You'll be toothless right now if you don't knock that out. I'll punch 'em out for you." Layna said, already beginning to shove food into her mouth. Leslie grinned as she dodged out of Layna's reach. Winona smiled also as she watched her friends. She'd missed them – and the life at Hogwarts – so much during the summer. Life at home was not nearly as fun as this, and at least here, she didn't have to listen to her parents' constant lectures. She had heard enough of them over the summer.

After dinner, Winona led the Gryffindor first years to the common room, pointing out hidden doorways and warning them about Peeves, a resident ghost who loved mischief. Once the first years were in bed, Winona walked back to her own dormitory, yawning as she greeted her friends.

"Look at that badge! Winona's a prefect now." Leslie announced teasingly.

"Well, of course, Winona's a prefect. All the teachers love her." Layna said. Winona gave her an embarrassed smile as she climbed into bed.

"Isn't that the truth?" Leslie answered, her eyelids already drooping. Muttering a soft g'night, Leslie fell asleep, and Layna followed suit only minutes later. Winona stayed awake a little longer, staring at the ceiling as she let the reality of it sink in. She was back at last.

"If it isn't the blazing trio. I can still remember how _hot_ your robes were – literally." A voice drawled from behind. Recognizing the voice instantly, Winona clenched her teeth in frustration. Not him again, she thought. Beside her, she felt Leslie stiffen as she turned to face the boy.

"You!" Leslie said as she pointed accusingly at the boy, "Stay away from me. You have some nerve, showing your face after what you did last year."

"What could she be talking about?" The boy said in a false tone, turning to his gang of friends, "Could she be referring to that time when we set their robes on fire? Or was it that time - ?" He stopped abruptly as Leslie, infuriated, lunged forward, pulling her wand out. Winona and Layna caught her arms just in time and pulled her back.

"It's not worth it." Winona said quietly, "We'll get in trouble."

"Oh, is widdle Winona afraid of getting in trouble?" The boy mocked, "Well, of course, just what I'd expect of a teachers' pet like you. Heard you've been promoted to prefect. Congratulation, it must be a dream come true for you. Considering that's as high as you'll probably get, being a _half-breed_ and all." Winona's eyes flashed with anger, but she said nothing, though her fists involuntarily tightened into balls. Glancing quickly from Leslie's and Winona's faces to the boys, Layna pulled lightly on her friends' arm and led them into the classroom.

"Forget them." Layna said as they sat down, "They're just some Slytherin scum."

"That hateful boy. I swear I'll kill him one day. Scratch that. I'll kill them all, him and his posse, too. You know, I don't get what's so good about him. Why does he get away with, like, everything?" Leslie fumed as she shot glares at the boys, "And Merlin, if I see another girl swoon at the sight of him, I will bloody kill her, too. He's not even hot, really. I mean, really, how is he possibly hot? Okay, so he has some muscles. Big deal. Tons of guys do, right? All I see is a conceited brat with messy, brown hair, a slightly tanned face, and an ego the size of a hot air balloon. Oh, I could just scream." Winona, too absorbed in her own thoughts, barely heard her, her anger mounting by the minute. How dare him think himself so much better than her! It meant nothing that her father was a half-werewolf; he didn't even turn into one – except on rare occasions. And, how did he know? It wasn't something she publicized. Only Leslie and Layna knew of it, or so she thought.

By the time class ended, however, Winona had calmed herself down, reassuring herself that it didn't matter. It wasn't as if she was particularly ashamed of being part werewolf, and it was such a small part of her that no one could tell if they didn't know the story. Her grandfather was a werewolf. So what?

"Hey, guys, I was thinking." Leslie said excitedly, her eyes dancing with glee. Winona knew that look. Leslie was definitely up to something.

"Wow." Layna said without enthusiam, "Leslie can think. Amazing."

"Shut up. Anyways, I just thought of the perfect way for payback." Leslie said, "You know, for that stupid charm Luke did last year. Just you wait, it's perfect. C'mon, I'll tell you my plan once we get to the common room." Winona stared nerviously as Leslie began to break into a run. "C'mon, hurry up." Reluctantly, Winona picked up her pace. Crossing her fingers, Winona hoped Leslie hadn't come up with anything too extreme. But, knowing Leslie, she probably had.

--

"Are you trying to get us all expelled?" Winona stood up, a horrified look on her face, "That could kill him." She glanced at Layna for support, but the girl merely shrugged, the usual nonchalant look pasted on her face as she twirled her hair between her fingers. She seemed altogether unaffected by Leslie's rapid description of her 'brilliant' plan.

"Think of it this way, we would be doing a favor to mankind." Leslie joked, but noticing that Winona's worried face was still in place, she sighed, "Oh, c'mon. We won't kill him. And besides, there's no way he'd tell on us. That'll ruin his reputation."

"But, Leslie…." Winona protested, biting her lip. Detention was not on her list of things to do, much less landing in Azkaban. "An exploding spell is too much, don't you think? We might end up hurting him badly, even if we do explode something in the distance, and maybe even other people." She groaned inwardly for her use of "we," hoping Leslie hadn't caught her mistake. She knew Leslie too well by now and Winona knew it would only be a matter of time that she'd be dragged into yet another of Leslie's crazy schemes. At the very least, she'd have to change it a bit. Leslie seemed to have no clue just how destructive her plan was, most likely because she'd never bothered to pay attention in her Charms class.

"Weelll, maybe it is overdoing it a little." Leslie said, "How about a dung bomb? We could plant it somewhere in his room."

"Brilliant." Layna said flatly, obviously meaning the opposite, "And how do you suppose we're going to do that? Ask a nice, friendly Slytherin to let us into the common room?" Her biting sarcasm, however, didn't faze Leslie, having gotten used to it in the past 10 years they'd been friends. She shrugged lightly.

"There's got to be a way." Leslie said offhandedly, "In fact, Winona probably has the answer right now." She turned to stare at Winona, a wide grin on her face. "Well? Any clues?"

"Umm…" Winona stalled for time as she debated whether to get herself involved in this. A dung bomb didn't seem too bad and she was still irritated with Luke's harsh remarks. "A Switching Spell ought to do it. We wouldn't even have to be very near him." This time, Leslie definitely caught the 'we' used and her eyes brightened, her grin widening even more.

"We? So, you'll help? Oh, please, I'll need your help." Leslie wheedled.

"Especially since you have no clue _how_ to perform a Switching Spell, do you?" Layna added mockingly, "You were probably reading one of your _fascinating_ manuals when we learned that in Transfiguration."

"Hey, Quidditch is much more interesting than anything Professor Swastika has to teach." Leslie shrugged, using a well-known nickname students often gave the strict Transfiguration teacher, Professor Swasky. "Anyways, why sweat the details when Winona can do it? You will help, right?"

"I guess." Winona sighed. It wasn't as if she was actually given a choice. After all, Leslie was one of her best friends and she'd stood up for Winona several times. Someone had to keep Leslie from getting in too much trouble.

"Great!" Leslie said, giving Winona a hug, "I'll get the dung bomb. You just get that spell ready, kay?." Winona wondered whether to laugh or to shake her head at the girl's enthusiasm and energy as she watched Leslie run out of the room.

"She does realize we learned that spell last year, right?" Layna asked, rolling her eyes.

"There he is." Leslie whispered excitedly as she peered through the bars of the stairs. Hidden by the staircase, Winona silently whipped out her wand and chanted the Switching Spell, her eyes focused on Luke. The dungbomb disappeared and Winona could faintly see the outlines of it, now attached onto one of Luke's broomstick. As she turned to whisper to Leslie, she heard a small explosion and a sudden shriek. The threesome craned their necks eagerly to see Luke covered with dung and less than pleased with it. His angry eyes scanned the nearby places, and the girls ducked their heads to avoid being seen. Suppressing laughter, the girls scurried away before Luke could spot them.

"What did I tell you?" Leslie said between bursts of laughter, "Wasn't that great? The oh so popular Luke, the laughingstock of Hogwarts. I'm such a genius." She added, taking a bow to her imaginary audience.

"Sure." Layna said, "But, you forget you barely did anything. And besides, only a few people saw it, you know. It's not like the entire school did."

"I came up with it, didn't I?" Leslie shot back, "And don't you worry. It'll be all over the school by tomorrow, I'll make sure of that." A devilish grin on her face appeared on her face as the girls walked to class.

Defense against the Dark Arts had always been one of Winona's least favorite subjects, partly because of the beady-eyes professor that taught it, but also because she could never the master it. To make matters even worse, she had the class with the Slytherins this year and that meant she could always look forward to a few mocking words from Luke and his posse every time she failed or froze up during a duel. For some reason, however, Luke passed the class easily, something that infuriated Winona to no ends.

After another painfully long class of dueling and defensive techniques, Winona was walking to her next class – Arithmancy, a class she didn't share with her friends – when she felt a hand on her shoulder. "I suppose it was you who planted that dungbomb on me." The boy said in what seemed to be a careless tone, the type a person would use to ask about the weather, "No, I don't think you'd have the nerve to think of that. No, I'm guessing Leslie thought up of it, but of course, needed your help to execute it. Naturally." He sneered as he said the last word, contempt in his voice. Winona narrowed her eyes at the implied insult he'd made of Leslie, but she resisted the urge to

"What are you talking about?" Winona said as she glanced back, trying to sound as casual as he did. Luke merely smirked, though she thought she could see a trace of anger flash in his eyes. He leaned forward to whisper into her ears.

"No one makes a fool of me and gets away with it." Luke hissed, "Watch your back, Winona." He strode off, but not before giving her a meaningful glance. Winona let out a breath of air she didn't know she'd been holding. Luke still made her nervous, even after five years. She'd better take his advice and be careful. After all, the last time Luke threatened her, she'd end up in the hospital wing. She knew he wouldn't hesitate to hex her, no matter the consequences. He was never one to follow rules.

Oh great, she thought, what a way to start the year.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Thank you for reading Chapter 2 of NBTT. I would love to get feedback, suggestions, comments, etc. from you all. So, if you have a moment, please review. Thanks. Also, I apologize in advance if it takes a while for the next chapter to come out. I'm very busy (and a procrastinator, to top it off), but I'm trying to get it done. xD Oh, and I'd like to thank Lily Lee for all the support and help. It was greatly appreciated. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed reading this. See you in the next chapter.


	3. Trouble Stirring

**Nothing But The Truth**

**By Violetphantasy**

* * *

"Ms. Wong. Mr. Lancaster. What do you think you are doing?" A sharp voice rang out and echoed through the halls. A tall, gaunt man walked towards them, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the students, "I'd have expected such behavior from Mr. Lancaster here, but Ms. Wong, honestly, you disappoint me. 50 points from Gryffindor and Slytherin for fighting in the halls."

"Professor Swasky, I – " Winona sputtered, but the man had already taken her arm roughly and began to drag the two students down the hallway. Words raced through her mind, but she couldn't seem to pick the right ones to explain why she was caught with her wand pointed at Luke.

"Save your excuses for the headmaster." The professor said gruffly. Winona felt her heart drop. The headmaster? She'd never gotten herself in so much trouble. Even Leslie's little schemes had never landed her in the headmaster's office. _He started it_, she felt like saying, _It's all his fault_. If he hadn't tried to hex her, this would have never happened.

"Headmaster, I've got two troublemakers here." Professor Swasky said. "Caught them with their wands out in the halls, trying to hex each other." The headmaster studied the two in front of him in silence. The girl was staring nervously at the ground, her eyes trained on the dull carpeting, but the other stood defiantly, staring straight in the headmaster's eyes with a glare. He didn't like the looks on that boy.

"Sit down." He ordered, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk. "Professor Swasky, you may go now." He dismissed the man with a wave of his hand, and then turned his attention to the two. "So. Fighting in the halls, eh? What a shame. You two should be old enough to know better, wouldn't you think?" He tried to sound kind, but stern, but he wasn't much good at being kind, and it came out much harsher than he'd planned. To be honest, he didn't like kids much. They were forever doing the most troublesome things, and he was always forced to deal with them. Sometimes, he felt like he never got a moment's rest. If anyone had told him a couple years ago that being a headmaster would be so tiring, he might have changed his mind about accepting the job. It was rather late now to quit, and besides, he enjoyed the power that came along with it.

Just then, the door swung open, and a young man stepped through. Most people his age would be considered middle-aged, but the word just didn't seem to apply to him. Although Professor Hunter was well into his thirties, he looked not a day after twenty-five and was quite handsome, to top it off. There were times the headmaster couldn't stand looking at him. It made him feel a great deal older.

"Good day." The professor said casually, and then settled his eyes on the two students. "What do we have here? What a strange duo indeed. I never thought I'd see the two of you sitting side by side."

"Ah, these two miscreants." The headmaster said. "Fighting in the halls, I was told."

"Is that so?" The professor raised an eyebrow. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Say, why don't I take them off your hands? I've got something I need done, anyways. It would be nice to have some help." The headmaster gave him a long look, but Professor Hunter stared back unfaltering with a polite smile on his face.

"Very well, then." The headmaster finally said, "Take them, Professor. They can serve detention with you." He waved his hand again, this time at Winona and Luke. "Let's hope I don't see you two in my office again."

"Many thanks." The professor said with a tip of his hat, "Come along now, Miss Wong, Mr. Lancaster. I'll be needing your help." Winona sighed a breath of relief. While detention was hardly how she wanted to spend her afternoon, it was much better than the punishments she was imagining her head as she sat there in the gloomy office.

However, by the time she entered the potions room, she was panicking all over again. She hadn't gotten detention since the time Leslie decided it was a good idea to try and break into the Slytherin common room by bullying a younger boy for the location and password – which failed miserably when the boy proved stronger than all three of them. And, if getting detention weren't bad enough, she'd have to spend it with _him_. She glared over at Luke.

"Well, now, you're probably wondering what you are to do." The professor said cheerfully.

"Like hell I am." Luke muttered under his breath, inciting another glare from Winona. He rolled his eyes. He forgot how obsessed girls could be about the darling potions professor. It was almost creepy for Luke to see every girl at the edge of her seats, clinging on to every word the professor had to say. It was even creepier, however, to see Winona at the edge of her seat the entire day, looking as if she understood every word that comes out of every professor's mouth. She probably did, too. What a freak, he thought.

"It's simple, really." The professor grinned. "In case you haven't guessed, you'll be helping me make a potion." He clapped his hands and the instructions appeared on the board. "It's a rather complex potion, so you two will be helping me make part of it. The other part I've almost completed. As you can see, it's quite lengthy and it'll take some time to make. I'm only expecting you two to finish the first two steps today."

"Wonderful." Luke said sarcastically, not even bothering to lower his voice this time. He hated potions. It was so precise, so time-consuming, and so full of complicated instructions that Luke was beginning to have a headache just thinking of it. This was not the way he imagined his weekend. Hexing Winona should have been easy. Winona was terrible at counter-spells and she didn't have the guts to snitch on him either. But, Professor Swasky just had to put a wrench in his plans. "Just wonderful."

"I see someone is not pleased." Professor Hunter said mildly. "It's a shame you don't seem to enjoy the task, Mr. Lancaster. Perhaps, you'll find more joy in it as you perform it." His eyes rested on Luke briefly and his lips formed a frown for just a few seconds. Then, his smile came back and with it, his cheerful tone. "Well, I'm off. Good luck to you both. I have other business to attend to. I'll check up on you two later." Luke could only glare as he watched the professor stroll out the room.

"This. Is. All. Your. Fault." Winona said as soon as the door slammed shut, every word filled with venom.

"It wasn't like I wanted to spend my weekend with you." Luke replied. "If you just let yourself be hexed like I planned, we wouldn't be here."

"If I WHAT?" Winona sputtered, spinning to face Luke. "You think I'm just going to let you hex me whenever you want?"

"It's not like you can stop me." Luke said with a smirk. "We've all seen you in D.A.D.A class. You're a complete failure."

"YOU!" Winona said, too angry to form a retort. She hated it when people reminded her of her flaws.

"I what?" Luke said mockingly. "You really have the worst comebacks ever." Winona wanted nothing more than to wipe that conceited smile off his face, but she knew the chances of winning a duel with Luke was slim. Several incidents in D.A.D.A class were proof of that. Winona wasn't sure if what she hated more – the fact that she couldn't seem to master Defense Against the Dark Arts or the fact that he was better. Both frustrated her to no ends. Only in D.A.D.A class would she be trailing Luke (she in a mere fifth place while he in third). Somehow, she just had little aptitude for fighting of any kind. Only through hours of repetition and practice did she manage to retain her position in the top five.

"Jerk." She finally said as she fought hard to suppress her anger. She was in enough trouble as it was, and besides, she had a potion to do. As she quickly scanned the instructions, Winona frowned. She didn't recognize it. She was sure she had memorized every possible potion the professor would possibly give 5th year students. She'd have to check out a more advanced book on potions and find it later. "We better get started."

"Who said anything about making the potion?" Luke said with a sneer, "You can if you want to, but I have no intention of spending hours working on a stupid potion."

"What?" Winona exclaimed in disbelief. "It's your punishment, too."

"So?" Luke said casually. "What's your point? I actually have a life, unlike you, and I have better things to do than to make some pointless concoction." Winona watched wide-eyed as he began to walk to the door. There was no way she could finish the potion alone.

"Oh, I know why you're quitting." Winona said. "It's because you can't do it, right? Admit it, Lancaster. You might talk big, but you can't even make a simple potion."

"Tch, as if." Luke said, though his footsteps had slowed. "Anyone can make potions."

"Prove it." Winona retorted. This time, Luke turned to face her.

"Look, I don't need to prove anything to you. Okay?" Luke said, glaring. "Merlin, you're annoying."

"You're just saying that because you can't." Winona mocked, trying to sound more confident than she felt. This was her only shot at getting Luke to stay. Not that she wanted him to, but judging by the difficulty of the potion, she would need all the help she could get.

"You are really getting on my nerves now, you know?" Luke said exasperated. "Fine. I'll do the stupid potion, Wong. But, this isn't over."

--

"How long is this going to take, Wong?" Luke said, gritting his teeth. "It's been two hours already."

"We've only finished the first step." Winona responded, annoyed. "There's still a lot more to go. Professor Hunter said we needed to finish the first two today."

"I know what he said." Luke said, "How long is this going to take?"

"The second step seems shorter. Probably an hour or so, I suppose." Winona replied as she stirred.

"You must be kidding me." Luke muttered as he snatched the ingredients from the ground.

"No, I don't think she is." A voice remarked behind him, causing him to jump. "I'd say she's quite right." Turning around, he realized it was the professor who had entered the room silently.

"Don't…don't do that." Luke said, his heart still slightly racing.

"Do what?" Professor Hunter asked innocently as he surveyed the potion intently. "Well, well. It seems like you're making progress. Keep up the good work." He watched them work for a while, but he left just as suddenly as he had come, giving the two a small wave as he walked out the room.

"Keep up the good work." Luke mimicked in a falsetto voice. "Merlin, I can't stand that guy."

"Why? Because he's better-looking than you are?" Winona asked as she measured out some red powder to put into the cauldron.

"That guy? You must be kidding." Luke scoffed. "It's his boring potions lectures I can't stand."

"Are you kidding me?" Winona asked. "He is one of the best teachers at Hogwarts. If you paid a little more attention in class, you might – "

"You and all the other girls pay more than enough attention to him." Luke said. "I doubt it's because of his _fascinating_ classes."

"Potions are fascinating." Winona said, trying to conceal the fact her cheeks had turned unusually red.

"Right." Luke smirked. The two worked in silence as the cauldron began to bubble. "How much more time?" Luke asked after a while, obviously impatient.

"About a half hour." Winona replied. "We're almost done."

"Finally." Luke murmured. "This potion was a complete waste of time.

"I'm sure it's very useful." Winona said sharply as she went to get another root off the shelves. "You really ought to have more respect for Professor Hunter."

"Right, as if he is worthy of – Hey, wait a minute. Is the potion supposed to do that?" Luke said a little apprehensively.

"Do what?" Winona said, turning back to the cauldron. "Merlin, what did you do?" The liquid inside had turned several shades lighter and the bubbling had ceased. It wasn't supposed to stop bubbling for another twenty minutes or so.

"Nothing!" Luke exclaimed. "It just stopped on its own."

"Yeah, like I'm supposed to believe that." Winona snapped.

"For all you know, it could be you that messed up." Luke snapped back.

"I did everything right." Winona exclaimed. "It couldn't have been my fault. Now, we'll have to start over."

"What? No! There's no way I'm starting over." Luke said angrily. "Just – I don't know – DO something."

"I don't know how." Winona replied frantically. "I don't know what went wrong."

"Is something the matter?" Professor Hunter had walked into the room, just as suddenly as always, and he was staring at them expectantly. _Oh no_, Winona thought. How was she supposed to tell him they had messed up?

* * *

**Author's Note:** At long last, I have written another chapter. I'm so lazy...I'm sorry for taking so long. I'd like to thank Lily Lee for helping me and giving me advice. As usual, I'd love any comments, suggestions, etc., so please REVIEW. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it. Please stick around for the next chapter.


End file.
